Channel 4 CMO Zaid Al-Qassab to depart
Zaid Al-Qassab’s departure comes as Channel 4 confirms it is cutting 18% of its workforce.
By Molly Innes
Channel 4’s CMO Zaid Al-Qassab is set to leave the broadcaster at the end of March.
His departure comes as the channel prepares to cut 18% of its 1,500 strong workforce, around 200 jobs, amid a decline in its advertising revenue.
Al-Qassab joined Channel 4 in 2019, and was diversity and inclusion officer alongside his job as CMO until August 2022. At Channel 4, he led the marketing and digital teams, and 4creative, Channel 4’s award-winning in-house creative agency.
In an email to staff, CEO Alex Mahon credited Al-Qassab, one of Marketing Week’s Top 100 effective marketers, with bringing its product, marketing, content communications and 4creative teams together in one team – the marketing and viewer experience division, as well as the broadcaster’s rebrand at the start of 2023.
“On a personal note I am especially grateful to Zaid for his support as a member of the executive team leading us through the challenges of lockdown, and the time and care he has taken in building and developing his team,” says Mahon.
Why Channel 4 is ditching the All 4 brand and adopting one cross-channel identity“Zaid will continue to serve the business until he leaves at the end of March, with a focus on our reorganisation and delivering the Paralympics campaign for Paris 2024.”
Before joining the broadcaster, he was chief brand and marketing officer at BT, which he joined in 2015. Al-Qassab kickstarted his career at P&G, where he held various roles across 20 years – his final role at the FMCG giant was managing director of its health and beauty division for the UK and Ireland
Al-Qassab is also a director and council member of the Advertising Standards Authority and a board trustee of WaterAid.
In November, Channel 4 announced it was considering taking an emergency loan of £75m in the face of the worst advertising market since the 2008 financial crisis.
CEO Mahon told a committee of MPs that month the channel was facing “market shock territory” as brands pulled back on TV advertising.
Al-Qassab’s next steps are unknown, Channel 4 said only he plans to “pursue a new challenge”. The broadcaster is yet to confirm whether it plans to fill the CMO role.
